Transform yourself, family, friends, community, and our world by sharing what you love to do and a pair of running shoes! Get fit with walking, running, a little P90X, and other fitness programs that help you enjoy life to the fullest!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

This past winter has been really harsh on us New Yorkers! The cold howling winds and wintry mix made running outdoors hazardous and unbearable. So when Old Man Winter took the occasional short break, we took advantage of those rare amazing just warm enough running days.

It’s really fortunate that Irene and I decided to started P90X during this “off” season and take a break from running and really condition the legs for a new running season. All we had to do was press play on our DVD and workout with Tony Horton. It is like having our own personal trainer and in the warmth of our family room.

The last time I laced up and tied my trusty Asics Kayano 16 running shoes was at the 2011 Disney Marathon. Wow, it’s been over 2 months since that race, and Conquer the Hills 5K was my second race of 2011! While I am in the best shape of my life, I was still a little worried, since I limited my road time for P90X. The little jitters disappeared as I remembered that the 5K was to raise money for my friend’s fund raising efforts for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society.

Irene and I arrived about a half an hour prior to the start at 8:00am in front of Lynwood Elementary School. A couple of tables and very enthusiastic volunteers manned the sign in sheets, and crossed off our names and provided a ribbon to notify the race officials that we were runners for the race. We then headed in to the school to stay warm, especially since I wore just a pair of running shorts.

The red headed organizer, Jennifer Ross gathered us to the start of the 1st Annual Race, and gave us a speech to help up get motivated in this chilly weather. It’s supposed to be spring by now! She warned us to stay on the right side of the road rather than the usual left side for pedestrians.

The person who had the blow horn to start the race, fumbled with the trigger, but nothing blew. By the time, he pressed the trigger again, we all ran past him. I left Irene and quickened my pace.

As I made the first left turn on to Berkshire Dr, I gulped as I saw the ascension of the first hill. I later downloaded the elevation stats from my Timex Global Trainer and it was a 300 ft ascension from 95 ft to 395 ft for about ¾ of a mile. That was steeper than James Street for the Cow Harbor 10K. Eventually, I made a right onto Adirondack Dr for the final ascension to reach another 390 ft to finish off the race. It was all downhill after that last one. This was the hilliest race I have ever done.

I finished the race with an unofficial pace of 10:30 (this race was not officially timed), which was pretty good considering the hills, and I made sure I put on the brakes for the downhills. I was so afraid to smash my face by letting gravity carry me down the hills. I figure I would have done closer to a 9:00 pace, but I was cautious. Maybe next year I will let loose. As soon as I crossed the finish, I turned around and waited for Irene. And ran along side of her as we crossed the finish together.

Later on that night, Irene completed Day 61 of P90X (Legs and Back). I was really contemplating switching the workouts around and do X Stretch, but I was like, let’s do it. I was happy to kick Tony Horton’s but in some of the moves, like Calf Lifts, where I use the 35lbs dumb bells and he uses 30 lbs! My goal is to at least keep up with Tony by the end of 90 Days.

Monday, March 28, 2011

A true story One day a son asks his father: "Daddy, will you run the marathon with me?" The father answers yes and both run their first marathon together. One day, the son asks his father if he wants to run the marathon with him again and the father answers yes. They both run the marathon together again. Then one day the son asks his father: "Daddy, will you run the Ironman with me?" (the Ironman is the toughest...it requires a 4km swim, 180km biking and 42km running). The father says yes again. This all sounds easy...but check this video.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Just last year, I knew nothing about gluten, other than it helps make pizza crust and other baked goods the elasticity to stay together and product the chewiness needed to make some foods awesome. However, after doing a blood test for my son Zachary and just recently, my daughter Emily, looks like the entire household will be going gluten free.

What does gluten do to the body? Gluten attacks the small hair-like projections on the intestinal wall (called villi) by slowly wearing down the villi. Normally these villi absorb the nutrients and vitamins as food passes through the intestines.

Now the food nutrients pass in the gut less absorbed and unbroken down. Part of the bowel is anticipating the food to be in a certain state so it continues to process the foods further down the line. By this time it only can absorb what water is left. By this time you feel a pain in the lower belly and experiencing constipation.

This traffic jam then affects the emptying of the stomach then some get acid reflux and heartburn. So you grab an antacid like Pepcid AC or other products to help you feel better. It’s important to realize that everything is connected and the type of diet does make a difference.

In addition, from the villi being worn down and constipation increases, tiny holes are created in the lining, which lets food particles leak into your bloodstream rather than being broken down and absorbed normally. Then your body’s own natural defense system then starts to fight these “foreign invaders” and attacking the body. From this, you may see other symptoms such as skin rashes, eczema, bloating, mouth sores, and headaches to a name a few.

While some people will have this life long complication known as Celiac Disease (Leaky Gut), others can rebuild the intestinal lining with a gluten free diet to start the healing process. It may take 6 months of strict adherence to a gluten free diet. Just like anything else, it takes practice, practice and practice to get use to removing gluten.

Here is a list of ingredients that do not contain gluten; meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, and rice. If your want some flour, try some flours made from rice, corn, potato, soy, and almond. If you’re tired of white rice, try quinoa, buckwheat or lentils. If your recipe requires some the glueyness that gluten provides, then add some xanthum gum or guar gum. Instead of wheat flour to thicken up some sauces, try starches made from corn, tapioca or potato. Remember to follow your recipes for the appropriate portions.

At first it was kind of tough, especially they both need to also go egg and dairy free, but that is another newsletter. There are plenty of products that are gluten free and the shelf space for gluten free items continues to grow every day. It’s a hit and miss on many products, so you might need to cook and taste different brands to pinpoint something you will like.

For me, I like Trader Joe’s and De Boles Pasta’s. For Waffles and Pancakes, Glutino. For Pizza Dough, Gluten Free Pantry. Just note that Xanthan Gum helps create the elasticity that gluten makes.

Even if you are not gluten sensitive, a gluten free diet has many benefits. Your gut will thank you for it!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

The P90X results are in, Irene and I are very happy with the progress. With each phase we are stepping down towards our slimmer selves. At Day 30, we have noticed alot of changes. Now at Day 60, our clothes just hanging off our bodies.

I was in a rest room washing my hands when I looked up at the reflection, and I said to myself, who is that person wearing oversized clothes. It look like I was wearing a tent.

Next month, we are looking forward to doing our part to help the economy by going on a shopping spree for a new wardrobe and donating about a truck load of Extra Large Clothing.

Yoga X still kicks my butt. Crane is still a struggle. I really enjoy the challenge everytime it shows up on the DVD. Just make sure I don't fall on my face.

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*Please note that some links on my website are affiliate links where the company pays me a little bit to share their offerings. Also I am a Team Beachbody Coach and some of those thinks link you to my Beachbody websites. The links do not cost you anything additional to use them and you will be helping cover the costs of this website so I can continue to share my adventures. Thanks for your support!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Wow, in 2 more days, I will be taking pictures of my 60 day results. Both Irene and I are alot stronger and many moves have become easier and better to perform. Today in Plyometrics, I was able to keep up with Jump Squats, and boy was I winded by the last move of Jump Shot. Just need to "Bring it"!

I was again looking for a pair of pants today to wear, so I decided to put on a pair of pants that I bought in January on sale. At that time I was thinking I would eventually fit in them when I am done with P90X. Well, they are also too loose! I wonder if I can get down to a 32in by next month?

Friday, March 11, 2011

Today, before I awoke to do X Stretch, I decided to take my blood pressure for the first time since starting P90X. To my surprise, my blood pressure dropped to 118/77 from 145/93.

After running and doing marathons, my blood pressure never seemed to get any lower, usually over 135/90 consistantly for the past several years.

The only thing I can think that changed is really P90X Fitness Program and following the P90X Nutrition Plan. I also used Beachbody's Shakeology when it said to drink a shake. I really was about to give up on avoiding taking meds, and now I can do that. I am so happy that I will be living free of blood pressure medicine.

Please feel free to contact me if you want to learn more about what I did.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Back in the summer of 2007, if you ever asked me to go out for a walk with the kids, my answer would have been, let’s stay inside because I did not want to sweat. Fast-forward to today I have completed my 4th Marathon this past January 2011. Again, I must have watched Tony Horton and the P90X infomercial hundreds of times, and now my wife and I are halfway done! I am so astonished with the results we are seeing, and I smile when I look over to see my wife sweating and keeping up with the workout. She might encourage me to get lower or say, “Bring it!”

We are in the middle of Phase 2 routine that begins with Weeks 5 through 7. The program begins with
Day 1-Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, and Ab Ripper X
Day 2-Plyometrics
Day 3-Back & Biceps, and Ab Ripper X
Day 4-Yoga X
Day 5-Legs & Back, and Ab Ripper X
Day 6-Kempo X
Day 7-Rest or we like to do X Stretch

Of course you can start Day 1 on any day, you just need to determine which day you want to have off. For Irene and I, Monday seems to be the busiest of the week with work and kids stuff.

Some of you might have put in a less than impressive effort or you were still learning the moves. For others, some may have fallen ill to the flu this season. Like most people you might be just plain busy. You might be asking, is it alright to extend a phase. You can most definitely extend a phase, however phase extension should be no longer than 6 weeks because you will see better results with you change things up on a regular basis. Remember Muscle Confusion is where you will see the results.

Overall, I am still getting stronger, adding a little heavier dumbbells or reps in each program. In fact I was able to do a few pull ups without a chair. After a 6 weeks of repeating the moves. I am mastering how to do the moves which has helped us complete each section with limited pauses. Basically I am doing my best and forgetting the rest!

Then on to Week 8 for Recovery and Ab Focus, where focus will be on the midsection as if Ab Ripper X wasn’t enough. After 53 days into P90X you should be comfortable with the exercises and will be ready to hit the rest of the program in the next phase.

Week 8’s routine begins with
Day 1-Yoga X
Day 2-Core Synergistics
Day 3- Kempo X
Day 4-X Stretch
Day 5-Core Synergistics
Day 6-Yoga X
Day 7-Rest of X Stretch

The nutrition in this Phase is called Energy Booster adding more Carbohydrates to provide enough energy based on the workouts. Included in the meals are now oatmeal, bagels, muffins, waffles and pancakes. Just remember, everything is modifiable, and remember the nutrition is a key component of the program.

I am looking forward to sharing my results with you in a couple of weeks, so stay turned and visit my updates P90X and Running at http://www.runwithnoah.com/.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

"Man O Manischewitz!" as Tony Horton puts it! My thighs are on fire, as we did a bunch of squat jumps and other moves to basically make your legs stronger and perform better. In addition, you are huffing and puffing for that all important cardio.

My only issue is that I tweaked my right knee doing Hot Foot. Hot Foot basicially burns out your calves as you hop on one leg-front back side to side for 30 seconds on each leg, but as soon as my knee feels funny, I just modify and make alternate hops on each leg. By the way, I am always amazed at Eric who wears a prosthetic on his right leg. So when I feel my knee go, I think, it's not so bad.

We are almost half way done with P90X, and enjoying the results. Only 16 more days for 60 day update and pictures.

Click the envelope to contact me

*Please note that some links on my website are affiliate links where the company pays me a little bit to share their offerings. Also I am a Team Beachbody Coach and some of those thinks link you to my Beachbody websites. The links do not cost you anything additional to use them and you will be helping cover the costs of this website so I can continue to share my adventures. Thanks for your support!